My short interview with TeamLab

As a ‘Digital Nomad’ -meaning that the world is my workspace, using digital technologies- we rely heavily on online collaboration with our Fellows (i.e. our professional experts working together with us our projects). There are many tools available to facilitate project management, some good and some ..uhm.. not so good. We tried many of them, and one of the latest we’re using is from a new startup in Latvia, called TeamLab. We were impressed by the features compared to the price. Which is… free. And how can a Dutchie resist ‘free’?

After a few months of testing we are pretty satisfied what it can do. There are certainly things missing (of which being able to close certain parts for certain people is one of the most important) but TeamLab says it’s working hard on new functionalities. I’m also looking forward to their business model. Because I’m commercial enough to realize that free can not last forever. Not even in Latvia…

Below is a short interview they conducted with me on the use of their platform. You can read the original here.

TeamLab user success story #2: How I found a ‘cheaper’ project management solution close enough to my perfection

October 11, 2010

We are continuing our series of case studies from TeamLab active users and today would like to introduce Erik van der Zijden from Netherlands, co-founder of DigiRedo.

1. Erik, what do you use TeamLab for?

I use TeamLab for a variety of business cases. First and foremost for my own company, DigiRedo. With about 7 people we are passionate about implementing new media. We have some 40 projects which are pending for this year and we use TL to manage these. These projects vary from video production, website building to training and consultancy. Finally I’m using TeamLab at some of my customers, a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company (parent company 100k + employees).

2. Did you use online collaboration tools before?

Yes

3. How did you learn about TeamLab and what made you choose it from other platforms?

I don’t know exactly where I learned about TL. Most probably on some sort of blog. I’ve been using many, many SaaS solutions for online collaboration. Last year we have been introducing a platform from a large vendor within that pharma company. Costs involved: $50K. I was looking for myself for a ‘cheaper’ solution but had a specific set of requirements. TL meets about 75% of those requirements. Not perfect yet, but close enough to give it a try. I will however monitor other platforms closely but hope TL will grow closer to my perfect platform.

The overall impact is that now we have most correspondence about a project in a central place. People are now already referring to TL as a central hub.

7. Have you noticed any significant changes in the way your work is organized?

Not yet specifically, therefore it needs to be integrated much more with other systems such as my GTD system, calendar, mail etc. But what I do know is that discussions about pending projects with my bizniz partner happen in a much more constructive and organized way.